oncle French · revision 17262

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1100, Chanson de Roland (uncle)|origins=la avus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɔ̃kl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''oncle''' ''m'' (plural oncles)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''uncle'' (1080), ''oncle'' from the early 12th century.^(GLLF 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|oncle]], [[inh|la|avunculus|t=maternal uncle]], through [[la-vul|*aunclum]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|25, 1252a) The central /u/ fell and the /w/ of the first syllable weakened, Littré notes that Latin comic poets already scanned the word in three syllables, “aunculus”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873) “Avunculus” is a familiar diminutive of [[m|la|avus|t=grandfather]], the source of [[aïeul]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873) In Latin it named only the mother's brother; the father's brother was [[m|la|patruus]], which has disappeared from all the Romance languages.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ The words for uncle in [[it|zio]] and [[es|tío]] come instead from [[la-lat|thius]], from Greek.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The French word was borrowed as [[de|Onkel]] and [[nl|nonkel]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100) it already means the brother of one's father or mother: ''Machiner e sun uncle Maheu''.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the 17th century it also meant, familiarly, someone whose kinship is vague or imaginary (1611), and the husband of an aunt (1719).^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) ''Faire l'oncle'' “to scold” is found in the late 17th century, and ''oncle à la mode de Bretagne'', a parent's first cousin, in 1690.^(GLLF 1989) The rich relative who brings an unexpected fortune is the ''oncle d'Amérique'' (1826, Scribe) and the ''oncle à héritage'' (20th century, ''oncle à succession'', 1841, Balzac); ''Oncle Sam'' personifies the United States (1873).^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992) In 19th-century slang ''mon oncle'' was a moneylender (Balzac, 1839), as ''ma tante'' was the pawnshop.^(BHVF) In African French ''oncle'' takes on the value of the local kinship terms, close to that of Latin ''avunculus''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1100 – ''Uncle'', ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1531 – ''Grand-oncle''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1611 – Of a loosely related person, Cotgrave.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1690 – ''Oncle à la mode de Bretagne'', Furetière.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1826 – ''Oncle d'Amérique'', Scribe.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1839 – Slang “moneylender”, Balzac.^(BHVF)

+ * 1873 – ''Oncle Sam''.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|uncle]], the brother of one's father or mother: ''oncle paternel'', ''oncle maternel''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The husband of one's aunt.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # ''Oncle d'Amérique'': a rich relative who leaves an unexpected [[m|en|inheritance]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # ''Oncle à la mode de Bretagne'': a first cousin of one's father or mother.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''Oncle Sam'': [[m|en|Uncle Sam]], the United States.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[grand-oncle]]

+ * [[arrière-grand-oncle]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tante]]

+ * [[tonton]]

+ * [[aïeul]]

+ * [[avunculaire]]

+ * [[la|avunculus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}